Tehran Holds Anti-Coronavirus Expo Amid Rising COVID-19 Numbers
By Maryam Tavakolian From Tehran
After 4-months of uncertainty due to the Coronavirus Outbreak, The world’s second ‘Anti Coronavirus Expo’ highlighting “Anti-Coronavirus Achievements” was showcased by over 150 companies fighting COVID 19 pandemic in Tehran,Iran during 13-15 June at Tehran International Expo Centre.
Maryam Tavakolian covers this very unique Exhibition, only second in the world after China , exclusively for TFT readers.
Iran’s permanent international fairground came to life four months after the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of many businesses and events across the country. Not coincidentally, Tehran’s first major exhibition since late February was a showcase of the Islamic Republic’s products and milestones in the battle against the virus. Over one hundred and fifty exhibitors exhibited in the Expo.
The three-day event, jointly organised by two leading organisers of Iran Samepad Novin & Avaye Movafagh Iranian was hailed as very successful by stakeholders. The show was only open to authorities, health experts and foreign delegates. The public, however, could take a virtual tour of the event, according to organizers.
The exhibition, held amidst a seemingly second wave of infections, was meant to show how far the Mideast’s worst-hit nation by Covid-19 has come despite grappling with severe U.S. sanctions which have hampered its access to humanitarian aids and billions of dollars of assets frozen overseas.
The government of IR Iran says that it has sent thousands of coronavirus test kits to Germany, Turkey, and Afghanistan, among other destinations. The exhibition was an opportunity to market a range of Iranian products, from test kits to PPE kits and disinfectants.
The Iranian military, which also runs extensive industrial operations, joined hands with 150 cleaning products companies and startups in the exhibition in a display of national unity.
With no sign of a slowdown in the global pandemic, all exhibitions scheduled for the current Iranian fiscal year (ending March 2021) will be shut to public visitors, said Bahman Hosseinzadeh, a deputy trade minister and the head of the Fairground.